Moving to the cloud with Microsoft Dynamics 365

To improve business performance and infrastructure management, Malabar Gold decided to move to the cloud with Microsoft Dynamics 365. They worked with the team at Microsoft to implement Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management to support back-office functions, export operations, bullion processes, supply chain, inventory and Dynamics 365 Commerce for retail operations and point-of-sale (POS) in more than 370 retail stores, and export to Azure Data Lake for analytics and reporting. About 3,500 people were trained in the system.

As Vineed Viswanathan, Head of IT at Malabar Gold and Diamonds puts it, "We were seeking a unified platform to enhance our retail, supply chain, and manufacturing operations. The implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 effectively eliminated our disconnected systems, providing a scalable and secure cloud-based solution tailored to our business needs.”

Value additions across business functions

The unified cloud solution led to multiple benefits like increased efficiencies across teams and helped the company gain agility with real-time insights.

Lean IT infrastructure team

The IT infrastructure team became lean with automated IT resource management. With Dynamics 365, Malabar Gold has a single, unified system for all business functions and maintenance is simple. “With Dynamics 365, we have seen significant changes in performance monitoring and load management, alongside robust security features. This transformation allows us to focus on our core business while effortlessly managing fluctuations during peak seasons, such as the festive period. Moreover, Microsoft’s ongoing support and service upgrades ensure the stability and availability we need for our operations," says Viswanathan. With the Microsoft team supporting performance monitoring, maintenance, and updates, the IT infrastructure team can focus on serving customers and real-time services.

Extensibility and flexibility

As a jewelry retailer, customer service is key to Malabar Gold. Dynamics 365 provides the flexibility it needs to enable bespoke business processes. For example, in retail operations, sales representatives create virtual shopping carts with customer order details. To provide the best service these carts are often transferred to another representative to provide additional services and complete the sale. Dynamics 365 was easily extended to enable this unique process, and the extensions are updated natively with the system, providing rich functional capabilities without the fuss.

As Mubeen EKH, Head of PMO at Malabar Gold and Diamonds says, "The support we received from Microsoft throughout our Dynamics 365 implementation project was exceptional. Having access to product experts and solution architects provided invaluable guidance to our internal team and implementation partner. Their active involvement in the project and insights were instrumental in ensuring a smooth and successful deployment."

Better systems, better visibility

Dynamics 365 replaced three disparate applications and many more databases. Today Malabar Gold has a single, fully integrated solution providing centralized master data management, comprehensive financial reporting, and inventory visibility across multiple  legal entities. This has helped with omnichannel inventory planning and accurate merchandising by making the right products available at the right stores at the right time.

According to Manoj PB, DGM Solution Architect at Malabar Gold and Diamonds, “Implementing Dynamics 365 at Malabar Gold and Diamonds has significantly transformed our operations. With enhanced statutory compliance and robust inventory controls, we've streamlined our retail, financial management, and supply chain processes. Real-time insights into our business performance allow us to make informed decisions with confidence. This solution empowers our teams to optimize inventory levels and maintain compliance while focusing on delivering exceptional customer experiences. We’re excited about the future growth and expansion that this technology will support.”

Statutory compliance

With the integration between the inventory and finance systems, auditors have access to accurate and transparent data on one system. This is resulting in compliance requirements enhanced completed quickly and more efficiently. Ali Akbar, DGM System Engineering, Malabar Gold and Diamonds puts it this way, "Moving to the cloud with Dynamics 365 was a strategic decision that has yielded significant benefits. We now have improved infrastructure scalability, enhanced security, and better performance, leading to a more responsive system. This transition has empowered us to better support Malabar Gold and Diamonds' growth trajectory."

Increased efficiency in retail operations

With increased efficiencies in the POS systems, the retail stores managed to streamline operations, and gain benefits in end-user transaction management.

Speaking about the successful implementation, Shaji Kakkodi, Group Chief Digital Officer at Malabar Gold and Diamonds, says, “Transitioning to Microsoft Dynamics 365 has enabled us to implement our business processes on a unified and extensible platform. Leveraging the SaaS model has streamlined our infrastructure operations, and enhanced performance and security. More importantly, it has provided our retail operations with the capability to scale efficiently during periods of seasonal demand.”